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halloween flashbacks

halloween is coming. which is crazy, because in no time it will be thanksgiving, and then christmas and then 2012. anyway…

apart from the candy and carving pumpkins, halloween isn’t my favorite. i feel stupid dressing up, but i always feel worse not dressing up if others are… so i dress up. my costumes have 2 requirements: 1. cheap 2. well done. if i’m going to take the time to dress up and feel stupid, i better look good damn it (and not in a slutty way. i’m not in college anymore). “well done” is subjective, but to me it means i give it my best try. to meet the cheap requirements, i usually make part or all of my costume – and ryan’s, since we are one of those dorky couples who do couples costumes.

i thought it would be fun (and slightly embarrassing) to revisit the last few years of costumes.

2010: toad and mario from mario kart

there was supposed to be a whole group of mario kart-ers, but in the end it was just the two of us. i loved how they turned out – mario’s crooked mustache and all. (i made the hats, my vest and the buttons of mario’s overalls.) my master plan included making the karts out of cardboard boxes, but ryan wasn’t having it so i didn’t put in the extra effort (they would have made the costumes though).

2007 & 2009: fred, wilma and dino flinstone

i really loved these costumes and how they turned out. loved them so much we wore them twice (since we were in st. louis one year and in chicago with a different crowd the other). i made wilma’s necklace out of styrofoam balls and sewed all three costumes out of fleece, to help us stay warm (and fleece was on sale and cheap). i wish you could see beck’s dino costume better, it was adorable (i even added pipe cleaners for the hairs on his head).

2008: april o’neil & michelangelo from teenage mutant ninja turtles

this year we went back to the university of illinois (my alma matter) for a tailgate, football game and halloween. we had the four ninja turtles and three april o’neils. this costume was a bit harder for me to put together, since there wasn’t much i could make. after much searching i finally found a denim jumpsuit on ebay and dyed it yellow. i finished it off with a belt, socks over my shoes for boots and a homemade microphone. the turtle costumes were great, and the garbage can lids on their backs made them (along with their turtle chests that i made at the last minute). and they were complete with the corresponding (fake) turtle weapons (of course).

2006: dog the bounty hunter and his wife beth

{random other dog on left}

i can’t believe i put these pictures on here, but i can’t deny our all time best and favorite costumes ever. i don’t think we’ll ever top these. though they were quite embarrassing, especially for me (i definitely got a bit liquored up before getting dressed and heading out). fake weapons were purchased, and i made ryan’s vest, the stencils of the logo for the vest and my shirt (the logo stencil was amazeballs) and our badges. i needed some amplification in the chest area, so i filled some pantyhose with microbeads from an old pillow (can’t count how many time i was felt up that night). i love all the details, from the weapons holstered around our thighs to the feathers in dog’s hair to the spot-on sunglasses (that ryan borrowed from my uncle. and i was a bit tipsy as mentioned and forgot to wear mine).

unfortunately (or fortunately) i don’t think we’re doing much for halloween this year, but i am putting together a costume for my work halloween party. i could wear one of my past costumes (though not beth because 1. embarrassing and 2. most of the elements can’t be found anymore), but i saw an idea for a costume and have to do it. i think it will be cheap and easy and will turn out well, but those could be famous last words (it’s my project for next weekend). and of course i will show you how it turned out.

what are you being for halloween this year? do you have a favorite halloween costume of the past?